New large-scale developments, hotel and venue openings, attractions, dining, retail and culture is set to drive visitation to NYC in 2019.
CEO, NYC & COMPANY
NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization, is presenting 2019 as ‘A Monumental Year.’ The new global communications initiative is designed to spotlight New York City as a must-visit destination in 2019 when several large-scale developments and openings are set to debut along with new hotels, attractions, dining, retail, culture and more.
In June 2019, New York City will also play host to WorldPride, the first time the big event will be held in the United States. The LGBTQ celebration coincides with the historic 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement. A promotional effort to showcase 2019 as a “Year of Pride” was revealed recently, alongside a colorful new creative design, promoting New York City under the banner “Pride. Uncontained.”
The press conference, held at The Museum of Modern Art, was hosted by NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon and Senior Vice President of Global Communications Chris Heywood. “With an abundance of blockbuster openings across New York City and the historic 50th anniversary of Stonewall, 2019 will truly be a monumental year,” said Dixon. “We encourage travelers to plan ahead now and put New York City on their must visit list for next year.”
The Museum of Modern Art is undergoing a renovation and expansion that will increase gallery space by 30 percent and will enhance public spaces. The first phase of renovations on the east end is now complete and the next phase, including new construction on the west end, has an estimated completion date of summer 2019.
Other new large-scale developments coming to New York City in 2019 include Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s Far West Side—the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States; The Shed, a multi-arts center dedicated to global displays of visual art, design, media; and Vessel, a climbable urban landmark created by British designer Thomas Heatherwick.
2019 will also see the opening of the new 26,000-square-foot Statue of Liberty Museum, expected to debut next May; the Nordstrom Women’s Flagship Store; the renovation and expansion of the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx; and the opening of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport in Queens. Next April, MetLife Stadium will host WWE’s WrestleMania 35.
New York City has the most active hotel development pipeline in the country, with 117,300 hotel rooms and an expected inventory of nearly 137,000 hotel rooms by the end of 2019. NYC currently has the highest occupancy rate (88 percent on average) and the highest average daily room rate in the nation.
New York City welcomed 62.8 million visitors in 2017, the City’s eighth consecutive year for record-breaking tourism, with 49.7 million domestic and 13.1 million international visitors. New York City remains the number one US destination for international visitation, visitor spending and economic impact. In 2018, the destination is expected to welcome 65.1 million visitors.
